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Garbage to Burn
| Image: Peter Holst | Published: January 06, 2010
A pink, foamy kids’ chair, the kind of cheap prize won at a carnival ball-toss, stands out in the sea of plastic, cardboard and other unidentifiable refuse in the cavernous garbage pit at the Burnaby incinerator.
A giant grappler crane reaches down, scoops up a metal mittful of the stuff and drops it in a chute that leads to one of three furnaces, where 1,150-degree-Celsius heat reduces it to ash, gas and incombustible metal rubble.
The crane operator goes for another load, then another. Employees work in two-hour shifts around the clock at this station, feeding three furnaces and keeping the middle of the pit clear so trucks can keep tipping. The plant runs at capacity 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Ken Carrusca, an engineer in Metro Vancouver’s policy and planning department, looks out on the mountain of trash below. “Once it gets here, this is fuel,” he says. “And this is a power plant.” According to Metro Vancouver, the Burnaby facility incinerates 280,000 tonnes of waste a year, or just over 20 per cent of Metro Vancouver’s total, and produces 16.7 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 16,700 homes.
The regional government’s draft management plan indicates a major shift in waste management planning, shifting from reliance on landfilling to incineration, and Covanta, a New Jersey-based company with stakes in B.C., is well positioned to take advantage of expansion opportunities.
Comments
Hallo! Greatings from
Comment by Anonymous, February 15, 2010 at 06:22Hallo!
Greatings from Germany! I have made an informationpage about an german recycling- and waste- management- idea in german and english language (kryo- recycling). Pleace spread this infomation to all persons, you know, that many people get knowkedge about this idea and good alternatives to incineration.
If you and others have some more or new information, pleace send the information to my adress. .
Here is the link to my informationpage:
http://sites.google.com/site/kryorecycling
With best Greatings, Felix Staratschek, Freiligrathstr. 2, D- 42477 Radevormwald
To even consider Waste to
Comment by Anonymous, January 11, 2010 at 14:03To even consider Waste to Energy technologies, given the urgent need for climate stabilization, is insane. Burning garbage creates more climate pollution than even coal power plants (US EPA) and continues to be one of the leading sources of dioxins.
Conversely, recycling and composting is the the quickest and most affordable action that communities can take for climate stabilization, while creating long-term sustainable employment.Consider the following facts: 1. Recycling and composting create more than 10 times the number of jobs than burying or burning the same amount (tonnage) of garbage; 2. Over 90% of materials wasted in North America can be recycled or composted; 3. Maximizing recycling and composting in the US would reduce GHG emissions the equivalent to taking half the cars of US roads. 4. Zero Waste strategies such as recycling are cheaper would save communities hundreds of millions of dollars that are currently spent subsidizing the operation of landfills and incinerators.
BC decision-makers should take a close look how the City of San Francisco has arrived at a 73% recycling rate in a very short period of time, with a commitment to reach zero waste by 2020. San Francisco's recycling facilities are also staffed by union employees who receive good wages and workin safe work environments. Stop wasting time and resources on incinerator proposals....you'll only be burned!
Ananda Lee Tan
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
http://www.no-burn.org
Waste to Energy is likely a
Comment by Anonymous, January 5, 2010 at 09:21Waste to Energy is likely a reality for the region, I understand the public's concern that we are burning resources that could otherwise be recycled. But the reality is North Americans are not consuming less we are in fact consuming more goods and services. With our consumption habits comes garbage. The reality is that it must go somewhere. So everyone - consume less and more thoughtfully create less garbage!
Natural ecosystems don't create waste, why can we not as part of the global ecosystem do the same? Sad.
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